Robert ..... You only gave us negatives to choose from ... ??
I think there are many positives ... else why are we here
I think the biggest negative on the forum is ..... (I am forced to stereotype)
that there is a fundamental division between two factions.
There is the 'realist' faction ... Those who accept only with accompanying proof. (IMO I am one of these) This faction could state its case as: The Universe is as it is, an arrangement of forces randomly acting on matter. It has no proven 'anthromorphic characteristics'.
There is the 'philosophical' faction ... This faction states its case as: The universe has an underlying beauty in which anthromorphic patterns can be clearly discerned, this is not the result of forces randomly acting on matter.
Neither side appears willing to discuss the others ideas, nor to even entertain them temporarily for the sake of a thread. My belief is that if we extended courtesy and a considered response to others opinions, temporarily regardless of our own beliefs, many more contributions would appear and confidence would increase.
On 'another' forum, the main page has a link to the forum rules. These rules are very comprehensive and are not just there to tell you what you cannot do, but also give
excellent advice and examples on how to conduct an argument or debate. Just some topics and fallacious arguments covered are listed below. The moderators refer to these regularly when moderating posts. ie: You are using the strawman argument, please desist. (rather than just deleting or editing posts at least the offender gets positive feedback, and can then read up on where he/she/me has gone wrong)
1. Ad Hominem
2. Ad Hominem Tu Quoque
3. Appeal to Authority
4. Appeal to Belief
5. Appeal to Common Practice
6. Appeal to Consequences of a Belief
7. Appeal to Emotion
8. Appeal to Fear
9. Appeal to Flattery
10. Appeal to Novelty
11. Appeal to Pity
12. Appeal to Popularity
13. Appeal to Ridicule
14. Appeal to Spite
15. Appeal to Tradition
16. Bandwagon
17. Begging the Question
18. Biased Sample
19. Burden of Proof
20. Circumstantial Ad Hominem
21. Composition
22. Confusing Cause and Effect
23. Division
24. False Dilemma
25. Gambler's Fallacy
26. Genetic Fallacy
27. Guilt By Association
28. Hasty Generalization
29. Ignoring A Common Cause
30. Middle Ground
31. Misleading Vividness
32. Personal Attack
33. Poisoning the Well
34. Post Hoc
35. Questionable Cause
36. Red Herring
37. Relativist Fallacy
38. Slippery Slope
39. Special Pleading
40. Spotlight
41. Straw Man
42. Two Wrongs Make A Right
Tho not of the high calibre of OUR forum (
) this forum does consist of entertaining and lively debate and has a good and friendly feel about it.
Others might point out that I am an offender myself, I admit it. But I have read these links and I do try.
Perhaps these rules, or similar, should be part of the registration process.
Robert, hope I have not been too forward here ....
cool bananas ... greg